Can social services speak to my child without my consent?

Its a really long story but I want to ask a quick question....
A SW has recently asked if they can speak to my Dd (nearly 4) without me present. This is in follow on to them looking into us a while ago due to ex's spitefulness.
I said no but she has informed me that they can speak to her at nursery. Although we have nothing to hide, I want my DD to be left alone. We all went through the mill with this last year and I refused to allow them to speak to her alone then either.
She was at different nursery back then and they back me 100% but I'm not sure this one would as its a Council run one (like a surestart one.) and do they have an obligation to comply? Or do they have to back what I say?

You can say no but they can enforce it i think. why dont you just say yes? itll only take them five minutes, theyll just want to check she is ok and as she is only four they arent going to expect a big conversation with her.

we have had dealings with social services before and i must say its better to go along with what they want instead of fighting.

hi there thay can speak to your child without consesnt but if you would prefer you can ask a adult to be in the room maybe a member of staff family member at least this way you know your daughter isnt going to be put under presure hope this helps xx

It is probably just a follow up of whatever occurred last year, to make sure that everything is alright and that your lo feels safe and is ok.

I'm not sure that they can just turn up at her nursery and have a chat without your knowledge or prior consent unless a current, really serious allegation had been made, in the which case, they would already have spoken to your lo.

You could ask one of the nursery staff to be present when they talk to your lo, and you should also be able to request to have a copy/ see the notes that the SW takes during/ after the visit because of data protection.

You can say no but they can enforce it i think. why dont you just say yes? itll only take them five minutes, theyll just want to check she is ok and as she is only four they arent going to expect a big conversation with her.

we have had dealings with social services before and i must say its better to go along with what they want instead of fighting.

Thanks for replies everyone.

I dont want them to speak to her because the SW is not a child friendly person. Odd job to pick when she doesn't know how to deal with kids I know.
DD made it very clear from day one that she didnt like her, without us saying anything. (we were very careful not to voice our opinions about the SW in front of DD as we wanted her to feel secure.)

They have done nothing but make life difficult for us and make us all feel like crap- which is totally unfair as the claims my ex made were found to be untrue and he admitted he had lied. Although this took a very long time!!! I know they have to check out each report they get in and I was happy (ish) to comply when they first got involved. However this was all put to bed but they have now got in touch out of the blue, yet again.

And thanks for the Family Right Group link, but I got in touch with them last year and never once got a response, by phone, email or letter.
x

Its a really long story but I want to ask a quick question....
A SW has recently asked if they can speak to my Dd (nearly 4) without me present. This is in follow on to them looking into us a while ago due to ex's spitefulness.
I said no but she has informed me that they can speak to her at nursery. Although we have nothing to hide, I want my DD to be left alone. We all went through the mill with this last year and I refused to allow them to speak to her alone then either.
She was at different nursery back then and they back me 100% but I'm not sure this one would as its a Council run one (like a surestart one.) and do they have an obligation to comply? Or do they have to back what I say?

So can I say no and have it stuck to??
Thanks guys xxx

having had the same thing happen to me and my child i can tell you the answer is YES- they can and have every right to speak to your child without you being present, but in your absence there must be a responsible adult present and that can be a child protection officer, social worker or member of nursery staff- sadly even if nursery staff are on 'your side' they will have to follow social services/ child protection procedure and sit in on talk even if they think you should be present as they have an obligation to your daughter not you and if social services tell them to jump they are duty bound to say how high..... ( it will probably be the designated child protection staff member or the manager)
from experience its HORRIBLE to know that your child is being spoken to by a social worker without you being present, but there must be a reaason as to why they think it would be helpful to do such and you'll win far more friends if you let them do there job without difficulty- you might not like them but its better to work with them as oppose to against them.....hope that helps?

It is probably just a follow up of whatever occurred last year, to make sure that everything is alright and that your lo feels safe and is ok.

I'm not sure that they can just turn up at her nursery and have a chat without your knowledge or prior consent unless a current, really serious allegation had been made, in the which case, they would already have spoken to your lo.

You could ask one of the nursery staff to be present when they talk to your lo, and you should also be able to request to have a copy/ see the notes that the SW takes during/ after the visit because of data protection.

Ask the SW exactly what she wants to speak about.

under section 7 of date protection act you can ask to see your whole childs file- you can also have an independant investagation done upon social services if you think they have failed in their duty ( theres a LONG list of things they should and shouldnt do in a child protection case)
they do NOt have to tell you they are speaking with her or give you prior warning of such event if they think that giving you that knowledge would hinder their investagation

Its a really long story but I want to ask a quick question....
A SW has recently asked if they can speak to my Dd (nearly 4) without me present. This is in follow on to them looking into us a while ago due to ex's spitefulness.
I said no but she has informed me that they can speak to her at nursery. Although we have nothing to hide, I want my DD to be left alone. We all went through the mill with this last year and I refused to allow them to speak to her alone then either.
She was at different nursery back then and they back me 100% but I'm not sure this one would as its a Council run one (like a surestart one.) and do they have an obligation to comply? Or do they have to back what I say?

So can I say no and have it stuck to??
Thanks guys xxx

Dear Elz M,

I’m very sorry that you have had difficulty getting through to us in the past.

We are often asked this question by parents, and I think you have already had some helpful replies to your post. However, I will try to clarify the legal situation for you a bit more.

When carrying out any child protection enquiries or assessments, a social worker will always want to speak to the child involved. They will usually want to see a child without his or her parent present. However they should be considerate of any distress this may cause so may, as others have suggested, invite a third party who your daughter knows and trusts to be present.
In normal circumstances, they would need to get permission from a parent with parental responsibility before speaking to a child. It is possible that if your ex partner has parental responsibility for your daughter, he may have given this permission.

In exceptional circumstances children’s services may speak to your child without the knowledge and/ or consent of a parent with parental responsibility. However, they would need to justify the reasons for this which would usually be where there was strong reason to believe that an investigation would be otherwise compromised.

If you are sure you don't want your daughter to be seen alone I would suggest that when stating that you do not give permission to your child being seen without you, you also set out clear reasons for this and offer an alternative if possible. E.g. that you are present at the back of the room without participating in the discussion or that another trusted family member or friend is there. If the social worker is insisting that they are going to see your daughter without you , ask for the basis that this is being done to be put in writing, including clear reasons why it is felt necessary to do this without your consent.

A previous poster referred to the list of things which should and shouldn’t be done by children’s services in their investigations. These are clearly laid out in Chapter 5 of “Working Together to Safeguard Children” (a government document outlining the policies that agencies must follow in child protection situations) It may be useful to read this in order to be clear about what you have a right to expect from children’s services in their dealings with you.
I hope that this is useful. You may also find it helpul to look at our advice sheet 9: "]URL="http://http://www.frg.org.uk/pdfs/9.%20Child%20protection%20procedures.pdf"] . If you want to talk this through please do call our advice line on 0808 801 0366.

Swk

I am am a trainee sw and he'll yeah I'm deterred. They even came to my door. I was astonished . I kept thinking why . Every malicious call has to be followed through and I emphasise, it's **** I know it so I can honestly say I understand but u still feel judged. I know I did. It's procedure after baby p, and Kimberly they are precautions but it's their job to interfere and he'll I know it challenged me but you just adhere x as much as I hate sw I want to help but even I am starting to differ. You hang in there and you will be fine x all the best and chin-up

Its a really long story but I want to ask a quick question....
A SW has recently asked if they can speak to my Dd (nearly 4) without me present. This is in follow on to them looking into us a while ago due to ex's spitefulness.
I said no but she has informed me that they can speak to her at nursery. Although we have nothing to hide, I want my DD to be left alone. We all went through the mill with this last year and I refused to allow them to speak to her alone then either.
She was at different nursery back then and they back me 100% but I'm not sure this one would as its a Council run one (like a surestart one.) and do they have an obligation to comply? Or do they have to back what I say?

So can I say no and have it stuck to??
Thanks guys xxx

TBH I a pretty sure they can. Because they NEED to know that the child is not telling them what YOU what them to say, it really important in some cases.The people doing the interview will be specially trained to work with children.
I would let them do so if I were you.

hi,a sw interviewing a young child wont actuly be a number of gruling questions,but usually done thru feeling flashcards,and thru picture drawing of how they feel,i.e draw me a pic of your home with mummy..then they will ask tp point out how they feel in that home and to say what they enjoy doing with mummy etc..hope this helps

i am going through a similar event this week

[hi . I am going through a similar thing as you have. My children are refusing to speak to a social worker at an initial assessment that will take place on Monday.
They have previously been involved with social services, two years ago. They had a very difficult time of it all, and had to see their dad removed from the family home. Both my teenage boys believe the sw's had twisted what they had said, back then, so they are refusing to speak now.
In your experience, what advice can you give me please. ?
I am so worried because I have no trust in these people, and after watching 'Exposure, don't take my child' , last night on tv, im very worried.

QUOTE=Elz M;5274233]Its a really long story but I want to ask a quick question....
A SW has recently asked if they can speak to my Dd (nearly 4) without me present. This is in follow on to them looking into us a while ago due to ex's spitefulness.
I said no but she has informed me that they can speak to her at nursery. Although we have nothing to hide, I want my DD to be left alone. We all went through the mill with this last year and I refused to allow them to speak to her alone then either.
She was at different nursery back then and they back me 100% but I'm not sure this one would as its a Council run one (like a surestart one.) and do they have an obligation to comply? Or do they have to back what I say?

Going back to last october when ss became involved in our family , my girls ar first refused to speak to sw. So sw took them to macdonalds and costa. Girls soon started talking. I hate that sw with avengence my new sw is a breath of fresh air. Even my daughters ex foster carer whom im still in contact with and educational people have nothing positive to say about the women.
I called it blackmail they called it positive communication.